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President Cyril Ramaphosa is not being undermined by his own ministers, who extended the ban on the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products, because he fully supported the ban, Presidential Minister Jackson Mthembu tweeted on Friday.
Last Thursday, Ramaphosa announced that the country would come out of the closure in stages, saying that cigarettes, which were banned during tier 5, could be sold during tier 4 that went into effect on Friday.
However, when the minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, announced the regulations for level 4 on Wednesday, the hopes of smokers that they would soon be able to light a legally obtained cigarette caught fire.
ALSO READ: Mboweni “did not like the ban on alcohol, the sale of cigarettes”, but “lost the debate”
In a change of direction, he said that the sale of tobacco products was still prohibited under level 4 regulations.
As a result, several of Ramaphosa’s political opponents, commentators, and general public speculated that Dlamini-Zuma, his opponent in the ANC leadership race, was undermining him.
On Friday, UDM leader Bantu Holomisa tweeted: “Media reports suggest that the president is being undermined by his own cabinet ministers. It will be a shame if factionalism politics is allowed to show its ugly head in the midst of war. When the president reports to various stakeholders, he always quotes NCC [National Command Council] approval.”
‘Is not true’
Mthembu replied: “The media reports are not true. The NCC changed its own opinion on the sale of tobacco in level 4 of the closure, which was pronounced by the president. The President fully agreed and supported the non-sale of tobacco as a result of the consultation process.
“Any suggestion that the president was undermined by members of his cabinet amounts to falsehoods and public deception. It is clear that some lobbyists will use and do anything to get away with it. “
On Thursday, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said at a parliamentary meeting: “I did not like the ban on alcohol and tobacco.
“I lost the debate in the cabinet and therefore I must follow the line. I lose a lot of income [because of the ban]. “
On Friday, British American Tobacco South Africa said it would challenge the ban in court if Dlamini-Zuma did not change it before 10 a.m. on Monday.
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